Immigration reform gets mixed O.C. reaction

May 22, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Claudia Breña, a delegate to the California Democratic Party for the 69th Assembly District, helped work on a resolution calling for inclusion of the lesbian and gay community in immigration reform. On Monday, the Orange County Democratic Party Central Committee unanimously approved the resolution. Breña was disappointed that protection for gays and lesbians was cut from the bill approved Tuesday by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

File photo shows students cheering as speakers from the Associated Student Government explained the Dream Act during a rally at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. FILE: JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Breña, a delegate to the California Democratic Party for the 69th Assembly District, helped work on a resolution calling for inclusion of the lesbian and gay community in immigration reform. On Monday, the Orange County Democratic Party Central Committee unanimously approved the resolution. Breña was disappointed that protection for gays and lesbians was cut from the bill approved Tuesday by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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"It's wonderful that we have made a lot of progress in immigration reform, but unfortunately, it's not one that includes everyone," said Anaheim resident Claudia Breña, 25, a delegate to the California Democratic Party for the 69th Assembly District. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Claudia Breña, a delegate to the California Democratic Party for the 69th Assembly District, helped work on a resolution calling for inclusion of the lesbian and gay community in immigration reform. On Monday, the Orange County Democratic Party Central Committee unanimously approved the resolution. Breña was disappointed that protection for gays and lesbians was cut from the bill approved Tuesday by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

WASHINGTON – Reaction to the go-ahead vote this week on immigration reform in the Senate Judiciary Committee was swift and mixed in Orange County. And while prospects for passage in the full Senate show positive signs, tests remain in upcoming House consideration.

The Senate committee Tuesday evening passed the measure on a 13-5 vote after the committee discussed 161 amendments of the 301 filed, and added 93 to the bill. The core of the bill, which lays out a path to citizenship for the estimated more than 11 million undocumented immigrants, remained largely unchanged.

But left off the table was a measure that would have allowed citizens to apply for a green card for their same-sex partners, a proposal so controversial that legislators predicted that if included it would doom the bill. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., decided not to offer the amendment.

"It shows we still have oppression and we are political scapegoats," said Anaheim resident Claudia Breña, a delegate to the California Democratic Party for the 69th Assembly District. On Monday, the Democratic Party of Orange County Central Committee adopted a resolution calling for inclusion of the lesbian and gay community in immigration reform.

For the agriculture industry and its workers, the bill could pave the way for a faster track toward citizenship.

"We are clearly pleased," Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Orange County-based Western Growers, said in Washington, where he met this week with congressional leaders.

Most of the 1 million farmworkers in California are undocumented, and the bill provides them with greater security and an incentive to continue working in the fields, said Maria Machuca, United Farm Workers spokeswoman.

The bill also would raise the national cap on the number of high-skilled foreign workers from 65,000 to 115,000 and possibly higher under a market-based formula – a plan that raises criticism from those who say those workers amount to cheap foreign labor and push out qualified American citizens looking for work.

"I'm the guy who is getting displaced," said Woodworth Watrous, 67, a software engineer from Dana Point. His 30 years experience includes work on military projects such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft. He is "waiting for the next job."

The committee also approved compromise language on H1-B visas (for highly skilled technology workers) that eases hiring requirements for employers, sought by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Other significant amendments included adding more specificity to border fencing requirements, allowing the Department of Homeland Security to more vigorously track people who overstay their visas using technology such as a biometric exit system, and enhanced E-Verify checks and balances.

The Congressional Budget Office will take two weeks to issue an assessment of the fiscal cost of the bill, which would mean the Senate floor debate could occur about June 10.

The outlook for a strong vote in the Senate improved when Hatch lined up behind the bill and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged Republicans not to block a floor vote. Advocates aim for a strong majority – 70 votes – in the Senate, which would carry momentum into the House.

In the House, a working group is drafting its own version of an immigration reform bill, with "legislative language that is ready to go ... so when we get to the floor we have a bill with bipartisan support," Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, said at a Tuesday news conference. He is a member of the working group.

There is one big sticking point, however: "House immigration negotiators have given themselves until the end of the week to hash out language on what kind of health benefits should be available to undocumented immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship, a crucial issue for the talks," Politico reports. Another issue is agreement on a guest-worker program.

The House group is made up of four Republicans, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, and Rep. John Carter and Rep. Sam Johnson, both of Texas. The three Democrats, besides Becerra, are Zoe Lofgren of San Jose, Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, and Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky.

The expected first step in the House will be the Judiciary Committee, where the interest in moving a comprehensive reform bill has been uneven at best. So, even if the working group can smooth out the sticking points, the fate of the bill in the House is hardly assured.

One Orange County representative would like to see its success: "The (Senate Judiciary) Committee's passage of this bill marks a significant and monumental step toward passing comprehensive immigration reform, Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, said in a statement.ï¿½ "The majority of Americans want Congress to pass immigration reform and the time is now. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House as we move this process ahead."

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